514 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ December 9, 1886. 
has been indulged in on this question I do not think indicates a bad 
case, but it has very nearly spoiled a good one. 
Nothing is more common for a person who fails in an attempt in 
di.ing what others succeed in than to think, a,pd try to prove, that the 
others are in error ; or in other words those who succeed are wrong, while 
those who fail are right. That Cucumbers can be grown, and are grown, 
without ventilating the houses in the ordinary way is a fact that cannot 
be denied, or at least the denial cannot be substantiated ; but whether 
what is called the “ non-ventilating system ” can be successfully carried out 
in all structures, and whether if it could it would be desirable to adopt it 
in all gardens, is quite another matter. In the great Cucumber-growing 
establishment at Piescot there are no ventilators in the Rouses to open ; 
and if there were it is very certain the proprietor who has achieved such 
wonderful success would not have them opened. When we see what a 
carpenter has accomplished by a departure from orthodox routine we see 
what can only be regarded as a triumph of heterodoxy. I know of only 
one parallel to the great achievement in question, and that is the case of 
Mr. Barter, also a carpenter, as a grower of Mushrooms. Both of these 
non-professionals are making their fortunes, if they have not made them, 
in doing what gardeners have proclaimed could not be accomplished. 
I HAVE been too long on the land to give credence to all the wondrous 
things we hear and read about; but I believe what I see on matters of 
culture after a close personal examination, nor am I particular to a few 
hundreds of miles of travelling for the purposes of investigation. J have 
seen both the establishments alluded to, and am convinced that more is 
done in them than has ever been published. I have seen another great 
establishment also, even greater than either of them, and if I were to tell 
all I know about it I should be accused of either having been imposed on 
or of drawing the long bow. I will give a sample, as I think it is good 
for us to have our professional pride wounded a little now and then, or 
we should get conceited. In the enormous commercial horticultural 
establishment, then, just referred to most things are done differently from 
what a trained gentlemen’s gardener would do them, and some are done 
better ; indeed—and here is the “ point ”—the proprietor will not employ 
suoh accomplished individuals, as they have so much to unlearn. That is 
possibly tho reason that some of them fail in growing Cucumbers in closed 
houses, hence conceive the system to be faulty if not mythical. They had 
better go to Prescot and see. 
The houses and method of culture are exactly as Mr. Bardney has 
described. There is no mistake about it. Cucumbers are grown there by 
the million and sold by the ton; but the houses would scarcely do f >r 
ladies in slippers and gentlemen in dress boots to pas& through. They 
have mnd floors in hot weather without a doubt. It is very much a 
question of wading through “slosh” to pass down some of them. The 
moisture ever rising renders the air very like that floating over a tropical 
swamp, where vegetation is luxuriant to a degree unknown in temperate 
climes or 11 properly ventilated ” garden structures. Similar conditions 
could scarcely be maintained in houses where the floors are closely paved 
and have to be kept clean. It is conceivable that in such houses the non- 
ventilatine system might not be the best ; and, further, in private gardens 
a steady and prolonged supply of Cucumbers is usually preferable to 
growing the greatest possible number in the shortest time and at the 
least expenditure for labour. This is the “ market Style,” and has been 
found the most profitable by those persons who have carried the plan out 
in its integrity in Lancashire. I wonder if the same system is practised 
by the great growers for the London market at Worthing. Perhaps Mr. 
Arthur Young can inform us; if not, I must watch my opportunity to go 
and see. 
It is idle to argue about Grapes, Peaches, and pther fruit being grown 
on the non-ventilating" system in summer. No one that I know has advo¬ 
cated such an absurdity. While Mr. Bardney defends the close system for 
Cucumbers, he points out with at least equal force the necessity for a free 
circulation of air for various kinds of plants and purposes specified on 
page 447. He evidently considers that a greater inrush of air than is 
needful or beneficial is often admitted to the occupants of garden structures. 
In some respects I think he is right, for I am convinced that sharp currents 
of air rushing through the front ventilators early in the season are 
inimical, drying the atmosphere, checking free growth, and predisposing 
to insects and mildew. But free yet judicious ventilation is necessary for 
the solidification of growth, and there is perhaps a.little danger of the 
non-ventilating system being carried out too rigidly—it may he even by 
its chief advocate, but more likely by others who may carry out his sug¬ 
gestions and who do not understand the philosophy of the subject so well 
as he does. ; i •> i • \ i i ■ >vi . < , ( >. 
IT 1 i -i I.’ 
As to growing either Cucumbers or anything' else “ without air,” the 
proposition is unsound. Air can no more be excluded from a glass struc¬ 
ture, in which the temperature is several degrees higher than it is outside, 
than water could be excluded from it if the house were submerged- It 
is almost certain that much injury is done both to plants and fruit in the 
edrly stages of growth by an ill-considered method of ventilation, and it 
is significant that growers of produce for-market do not spend half so 
much time in opening and closing ventilators as private gardeners do, 
while there is m mistaking the great excellence of the'produce of the 
best commercial horticulturists. There is a great deal to he learned from 
these industrious and successful' cultivators, whose work and methods bf 
acocinpliBhing it have often been admired by—A Thinker. 1 1 
We have received the following note from the Earl of Cathcart :—“ I 
am sorry to observe in the Horticultural Press that in relation to recent 
POTATO EXPERIMENTS some reflections have been made in regard to the 
Authorities at Kew. With Mr. Baker, F.R.S , of Kew, I have to-day (the 
4th inst.) visited the Reading collection. We have been vastly interested : 
and, I am allowed to say for both of us, instructed. Messrs. Sutton and 
myself are the persons most interested, and I beg to say we are grateful 
to the Kew authorities for unvarying attention and kindness, and we have 
nothing but appreciation to express in regard to that invaluable national 
institution.” 
1 fiii , 
--Although an unusually large edition of Mr. Molyneux’s work, 
“ Chrysanthemums and their Culture,” was printed, its acceptability 
proved so great that the stock is exhausted, and another edition is in 
preparation for the press. In the meantime all orders that are received 
at this office, and by the author, will be filed, and executed in rotation 
as soon as copies of the second edition are ready for distribution. 
- —— The Rotal Botanic Society of London ^will hold the 
following Exhibitions at Regent’s Park in 1887:—Spring Shows March 
23rd and April 20th ; summer'Shows, May 18th and June 15th ; evening 
fSte July 6th ; display of American plants during June. 
- “ S. P. E. S.” writes—“ In reply to a correspondent, ‘ J. A.,’ on 
page 495 of the last issue of the Journal, the lines quoted probably refer 
to Medicago intertexta, generally known as Calvary Clover, a singularly 
pretty and interesting plant that one seldom sees save in botanical 
collections.” 
- A Montrose correspondent thus recommends Spiraea callosa 
AlbA :—“I do not observe that the enclosed was noticed in the list of 
“ useful cutting flowers.” It has been a part of my every morning 
flower for three months past. It is about a foot high, densely full of 
white small blossoms; it tricks out beautifully with anything that fine 
Ferns will go with.” 
- A correspondent writing on Chrysanthemums at Chats- 
worth observes, “ These have been very fine this year and are good now ; 
i700 plants have been grown, or rather large bushes, mostly in 10 and 
12-inch pots. The r plants have been disbudded to about twelve blooms 
each, which are very large, and the circular Lily house is filled from floor 
to ceiling. The display is highly imposing, and has been much admired 
by all who have had the opportunity of inspecting it.” 
-A Sheffield correspondent writes:—“Our Calanthes were 
in a flourishing condition this year until the end of September or begin¬ 
ning of JOctober, and gave promise of doing well. About that time, 
however, they seemed to be affected by a kind of blight, though no insect 
life could be detected on the foliage of the plants, and on examination 
there appeared to be nothing amiss with their roots. The majority of 
our Calanthes will not bloom at all this year, having only made small 
and weak bulbs. On making inquiry of our neighbours, we find their 
experience in many cases to tally with our own. It would be interesting 
to hear the remarks of growers in other localities.” We will readily 
publish any remarks or suggestions that may be forwarded to us on this 
subject. 
I— i— We have received from Messrs. S. W, Partridge & Co., Pater¬ 
noster Row, an attractively bound volume of the “Animal World,” a 
■monthly publication, well described as an “ advocate of humanity.” It 
is profusely illustrated, and the interesting and wholesome character of 
,itsliterature renders it a favourite in many homes. The volume would 
|form an admirable Christmas gift for young persons. 
-A Gardener contributes the following note on Peach 
Flowers and Fruit Setting :—“ It is clear that many persons 
do not comprehend the fact that the large-flowering Peaches are of two 
races—the Noblesse and Grosse Mignonne, which vary considerably in the 
'development, or rather over-development, of the buds in embryo. In 
Noblesse^—the type— the buds are very liable to over-maturity, and they 
